[cyclehead]

They said they “topped it off” and they charge $200 an hour plus parts

Wow, that's a phenomenal shop rate! I work part time at an exotic import shop and their rate is $135/hour - working on old Rolls Royce, Maserati, Ferrari, McClaren, Austin Healeys etc. The brown coolant is disappointing. As you say, they must have mixed green and red coolants. Do you have any buddies with a garage and a few tools? It's a shame your parents don't encourage or support you doing your own work. I got my repair education the hard way - too poor to pay anyone else so I had to do it all myself.

 

[suoiruc]

reality can be tough, at 18 you have a lot of time to learn anything you want to, don't fall for the negative stuff, you bought the car spent the money & it is what it is, moving forward do your research get just some simple tools you can do basic stuff in the driveway....if your parents give you trouble have them watch Christine..kidding..but most of all think how cool it is to drive a Spyder

Christine😆🤣

 

[FormInFunction]

I may not be mechanically inclined but I’m not stupid.

I say this meaning absolutely no insult...you aren't stupid, you're ignorant. I was too with my first car (a spyder), which is why I had my older brother check out the car & negotiate price. Tbh I bought the car without having ever driven it...he did the test drive as well. First time I drove was bringing it home.

Even in just a driveway with a plastic tub worth of tools you can fix most issues on the car yourself. Not having tools...the amount you spent on labor alone would've bought you far more tools/better quality than I own currently.

Again, no offense but you're 18 y/o & clueless. When they see you they see the same thing as when most women bring a car in unofrtunately...someone clueless with no other recourse than to pony up. You didn't say what year the car is but judging by the rebuilt engine its probably 2000 - 2002. With that, the mechanical issues, & cosmetic issues you very far overpaid (again, deeper pockets than knowledge will always be taken advantage of). You desperately need to start learning to do simple maintenance (fluid flushes, brake pads, basically stuff other than internal engine/trans) or you'll be forever digging yourself a deeper financial hole.

You've spent $20,683 AND COUNTING on a 20 yr old car with 110k miles worth 2005 Spyder with $)17k. Again, you will ens up burning more than $11k on this car within 1 yr. I don't know where an 18y/o gets that kind of money to burn but knowledge is power. Make friends, invest in yourself as far as knowledge & tools, because every single dollar you spend is being burnt. It will not increase your resale value whatsoever relative to what is spent.

 

[FormInFunction]

Double post

 

[carlbecker]

Wow, that's a phenomenal shop rate! I work part time at an exotic import shop and their rate is $135/hour - working on old Rolls Royce, Maserati, Ferrari, McClaren, Austin Healeys etc. The brown coolant is disappointing. As you say, they must have mixed green and red coolants. Do you have any buddies with a garage and a few tools? It's a shame your parents don't encourage or support you doing your own work. I got my repair education the hard way - too poor to pay anyone else so I had to do it all myself. View attachment 96673

Oh the old Lotus Elan plus two. High on my list of wants, haha. Keeping that on the road without leaking oil is probably a big challenge. Still I love the one I drove many years ago.

 

[carlbecker]

$200 an hour labor rate. That's a lot of tools. Snap-on tools that is!

 

[carlbecker]

I repaired everything as a check engine light came on or it was clear it needed to be replaced. While I am not mechanically inclined, I’m not stupid enough to fix everything a mechanic throws at me.
Though I do think you’re right about buying an older car and having the skills to fix it.

Well that is how I started out at 18 years old. I bought a POS 1964 rusted out MGB. I have been learning ever since. I pretty much have always had ancient cars. Into the shop once or twice in the 50 years of my driving. I did end up working in a garage and owned thousands of dollars of tools which I know longer have.

 

[carlbecker]

I am not skilled enough nor do I have the tools to do it myself.

Everyone starts without knowledge . I Just purchased a cheap set of tools and started to learn. If you have the desire you can also learn.

 

[Guest]

Only thing unreliable is the shop you took your car to. Malian catless exhaust? Was that necessary to you? Does it sound necessary? That's a choice/preference. I can put new wheels on my car, but it's not fair to say because of that the car is unreliable. You did a lot of random maintenance and upgrades just because someone told you to and/or you wanted to mod. Car itself had little to do with it.
And $200 is dealer rates, like BMW. The whole point of going to a non dealer shop is lower rates, so you might as well just go to the dealer at that price.

You just spent enough to creep into S2000 prices by the way...

 

[Buttermoo]

Only thing unreliable is the shop you took your car to. Malian catless exhaust? Was that necessary to you? Does it sound necessary? That's a choice/preference. I can put new wheels on my car, but it's not fair to say because of that the car is unreliable. You did a lot of random maintenance and upgrades just because someone told you to and/or you wanted to mod. Car itself had little to do with it.
And $200 is dealer rates, like BMW. The whole point of going to a non dealer shop is lower rates, so you might as well just go to the dealer at that price.

You just spent enough to creep into S2000 prices by the way...

I don’t go to a dealer. I use a place called Xtreme Auto. And no, the exhaust wasn’t necessary but I wanted it for myself.

 

[Funkycheeze]

Yeah we are saying at that price you could. Even the Porsche dealer here doesn't charge the equivalent of $200 USD/hr

 

[Guest]

I don’t go to a dealer. I use a place called Xtreme Auto. And no, the exhaust wasn’t necessary but I wanted it for myself.

That's my point. At that price, the dealer might even be cheaper. Unless you are in love with your shop and/or getting incredible service, why pay dealer prices for a private shop? Not at all saying dealers are better or saints, but you have more recourse at least with dealerships. And corporate Toyota usually won't allow a complete shit show.

 

[pwnzor]

I don’t go to a dealer. I use a place called Xtreme Auto. And no, the exhaust wasn’t necessary but I wanted it for myself.

OK well first of all, welcome to Spyderchat.

Second, you definitely overpaid - both for the car and the subsequent repairs. All that being said, you need to find a new mechanic immediately.

Start by getting all that brown coolant flushed out and replace it with "Toyota pink" coolant.

 

[dev]

That's my point. At that price, the dealer might even be cheaper. Unless you are in love with your shop and/or getting incredible service, why pay dealer prices for a private shop? Not at all saying dealers are better or saints, but you have more recourse at least with dealerships. And corporate Toyota usually won't allow a complete shit show.

Absolutely true. You may encounter a bad dealer from time to time but on the whole I believe they would have come to a more accurate diagnosis with a master tech that would have solved the problem and it would have been money well spent with fewer parts and labor involved. If in doubt you pay for the nominal diagnostic fee and then take it to another dealership for a second opinion.

 

[Funkycheeze]

Honestly I've seen a lot of people satisfied with the local P car dealer and the one Toyota shop I work with. They do good, accurate work. But you do pay a premium.

 

[Freshtapcoke]

“When a person with money meets a person with experience, the one with experience ends up with the money and the one with money leaves with experience.”

 

[officer]

I bought a rebuilt with 74k miles for $7,200, less than a month ago. I've already spent about $400 on new tires, but that's been about it.

I'm not going to tell you what mostly everyone here's been telling you, but I will note that a few of the items you've paid for, don't require you to turn your garage into an autoshop.

For example:
-Antifreeze line leak: $300
There's plenty of resources on YouTube and on this forum that would have saved you at least $200 on repairing a line leak. Depending on where the leak is, all you would of needed would be some $5 to $10 pliers.

-Ignition Coils: $227

A screw drivers and OEM ignition coils.

-Indicator light wiring: $181

There are electrical wiring diagrams available that could have assisted.

-Mass Airflow Sensor: $434

The cost of the MAF sensor and a screw driver.

-New Battery (12/22): $169

Was the previous battery even bad? Was it tested?

-Outlet Coolant Hose: $593

Again, probably just some pliers to remove the hose and add a new one

-Car door lights: $20

Not too sure what lights because my doors don't have any lights.

Overall, any car with over 110k miles on body would require some work. Buying tools and working on your car shouldn't be a problem for any parent, so long as you're cleaning up, but that's a whole nother subject.

 

[mangomr2]

Do you have an interest in learning on how to care for stuff yourself?

Hit Youtube, go to your local Harbor Freight, pick up some parts and you can definitely take this experience and learn from it and also become a handy mechanic yourself. But you have to want to learn how to fix these things .

 

[beachbum]

I don’t go to a dealer. I use a place called Xtreme Auto. And no, the exhaust wasn’t necessary but I wanted it for myself.

You may have gone to an independent shop, but the prices suggest you were charged for OEM parts at full dealer list. Many independent shops use aftermarket parts houses like NAPA and others. OEM only makes sense when there isn't an alternative, or the OEM is close in price to quality aftermarket. Check labor rates in your area, but $200 per hour seems very high.

A others have suggested, find a new mechanic. Not only were you way overcharged, and probably had expensive unnecessary repairs, but any quality shop would know to use the correct coolant. The repairs suggest they had no clue what they were doing and just threw parts at a problem at your expense.

A quality shop will have techs with ASE certifications. One place to start is AAA. They list approved shops that should be honest and reliable

 

[makoy003]

hmmm u much change shop. i owned 3 1zz mr2 cars , each one with more than 180k on the clock
(now i have my 4th - bought with 72k now have 105k on the clock) .
besides upgrades and track days (tires, pads, oil changes, coilovers etc) i had no problems what so ever.
i run maf mode and full exaust and for the last 20k only oil changes and 10$ spark plugs. Mr2 is a very light and economical car...
also u can buy some 2nd hand staff like injectors, maf, indicators etc....